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Top 10 Ideas to Investigate this Summer(that will make your life easier next year)

Since we are in the middle of standardized testing everyone is a little overwhelmed so I thought I’d take a moment to give you some items to look forward to for later in the year or the summer. None of these are especially new, but after surveying people I know, many of these tools are still extremely underutilized. These are tools I use almost every day that would be worth taking a look at over the summer.

Number 10: Diigo

Hey it’s in the book so I have to start here. This is a tool I use every single day. You bookmark your websites so you can get to them no matter where you are. Diigo also allows you to add annotations and highlights. Here is a binder I made for the book on all the social bookmarking tools with tips and tutorials:

Number 9: Jing

Want to make a quick tutorial? Jing; http://www.techsmith.com/jing.html is the answer. It records your voice as you walk through the steps of how to do a task on your computer. Stores content locally or online. Very quick and easy to use. Can also do screen shots or snips.

Number 8: Quixey

If you are new to the world of apps then Quixey is the website for you; http://quixey.com . Search for apps via topic like you would on any search engine. The search engine will show you what platform the app is available as well as reviews. As always, look at the app and read reviews before making the final decision.

Number 7: Nearpod

Nearpod is a great way to keep students on track. The teacher creates a free account online and creates a tutorial or quiz. You can easily create from scratch or upload a PowerPoint and then add questions. Students use the website or free app and your classroom code to log into the group (no email required). As a teacher you control the speed of the activity and questions. Students can’t skip ahead or go back so they have to stay on track. Quick to start and provides instant teacher feedback. Nearpod will even email you the results.

Number 6: Bump/Chirp

Chirp is an iPhone app that provides a quick way to share photos, links, or text. It will only broadcast about 3 feet so you have to have your volume up and be standing pretty close, but it is a quick way to share information. This would be a great way to have students working on different websites at the same time.

Bump allows you to share contact information or photos by bumping devices. The most powerful part of bump though is that you can open up the app and bump photos straight to your computer by using the bump app and the http://bu.mp website.

Number 5: Flipboard

Flipboard is a quick way to keep up with different topics. It is a website or an app. I use it on my Kindle and phone. Once you create an account you can personalize the feed to include topics you like to create your own personal magazine. Be sure to look at the flipboard categories Cool and Flipboard Pics. Always something amazing!

Number 4: Protopage

With the sunsetting of Google reader, I switched over to Protopage; http://protopage.com and found I actually liked it better. You can add tabs at the top to keep your content together. I’ve made protopage my homepage so instead of clicking on each website I can see any new entries posted in my protopage account. Here is a snip of my tab:

Then you go to websites that you follow all the time and look for the RSS symbol . Once you click on that copy the address and paste into Protopage. For more on RSS try this article: http://www.whatisrss.com/

Number 3: Twitter

Yes, I scoffed at Twitter too, but I’ve been using it for about a year now, and I have to say that the PLN part of Twitter is AMAZING. I learned so much from my peers. When you share ideas about what you are doing or participate in chats you can learn not only from people in your district, but people all over the world.

Number 2: Evernote

Ever find yourself looking for a handout? Forget when to go to a meeting? Can’t remember where your To Do list is? Try Evernote. You can:

take notes (every word becomes searchable)

snap a picture of a receipt (every word becomes searchable)

take a picture of a handout (every word becomes searchable)

create a To Do list from your notes (every word becomes searchable)

Sensing a pattern? Evernote helps you organize and think without having to be overly worried about adding the right tags.

Number 1: Dropbox

Keep all your files in one place. It will put a folder on your computer that works kind of like a flash drive but you can also log into the website to access your files. Great if you have both a personal computer and a presentation cart. You can also easily share files or folders with others.

Ohhh if you want to try this please let me know and I’ll send you an invite!! Everyone you invite who joins helps give you more storage space.